Work Text:
His mother had whispered stories to him, unbelievable tales of the world blooming into color whenever the hero’s eyes met their one true love. They lived in a world of shades of grey, but as soon as they came across the one person their soul was connected to, they saw colors for the first time.
But to the nobles of his father’s court, his color blindness was simply another defect caused by his Fódlan blood.
It was at a conference when he first met the precious Prince of Faerghus. Well, that was what his grandfather called it, but in truth it was more a party to announce his newly found grandson to the world. And there Dimitri was, on his first lone political assignment, trying his best to be the courteous and perfect prince. There was an awkwardness about him that would be so easy to take advantage of, that he denied to himself he found endearing.
Still, he bit his lip to hide a snort of laughter when Dimitri, attempting to back away from a rather insistent woman, bumped into the stuffy Count Gloucester, causing the older man to spill his wine. Dimitri attempted to apologize, and Gloucester was doing his best to be kind about the whole situation, but there was an unmistakable twitch in his eye. If it were anyone else, Gloucester would have had their head.
Apparently he did not do a very good job of covering the noise, for Dimitri’s head turned toward him, their eyes locking. His breath rushed out of him as all around him the grey filled in. Reds and oranges, the yellow of the Alliance that covered everything, revealed themselves to him. He guessed at which were which, remembering the stories and descriptions his mother had given him.
Dimitri’s hair was pale sunlight, falling into his eyes as he stared back with the same open wonder on his face. He was so fascinated with this new world, that it took him a moment to realize the prince’s clothes were still cast in grey.
His face turned in a frown. His mother said the grey dissipated completely, but everywhere he looked, there it still was, interwoven with the new warm colors he could see. Dimitri blushed, cheeks turning bright pink when he looked away. He would find out years later that the sadness in Dimitri’s eyes was because he thought that frown was a rejection, the prince’s heart shattering to pieces in his chest.
The prince said his congratulations, and then was swept away. The night was filled with duty, and neither could get close to the other again.
Not until he entered the Academy a year later. They danced around each other, his weariness clashing with Dimitri’s shyness. There was a darkness around the prince now that only made him more careful around the other boy, but that secret clawed at him, begging to be unraveled. And the giant constantly at Dimitri’s back really didn’t make it any easier to approach him.
Yet, he did his best, laughing and joking easily, slowly pulling Dimitri out of his shell. That facade would occasionally crack, the mask of duty falling away to reveal the man beneath. The first time he earned a laugh from Dimitri, he could not keep the largest grin off his face. It was true and pure in a way he had not shown anyone since he was a child, before he learned to guard his emotions.
But here they were now, crashing through the trees of a forest as they ran for their lives. Looking over his shoulder, he could see the red of Edelgard’s cloak and the gold of Dimitri’s hair, the other house leaders hot on his heels. He cursed mentally, not having the breath to spare to do so out loud.
They broke through the foliage, managing to run right into a small village. A rough and tumble group stared at them as they crossed the treeline. It took him only a moment to realize they were mercenaries. There could be nothing luckier really. While he did not have much gold on him, and he doubted the others did too, the Church and the respective leaders of their territories would pay handsomely for a rescue of the three heirs.
One of the mercenaries broke away, ducking into a small hut. A moment later he returned with a bulwark of a man and a young woman. She was almost entirely in grey, the only color his eyes were able to pick up was the pink tassel dangling from her broach.
Her eyes swept over them as her father spoke. Dimitri nearly tripped on his face, needing a hand to keep his feet. A moment later, as her eyes met his, showing the faintest note of surprise as her eyes widened, he understood. The rest of the world came into brilliant color.
He could see the blue of her hair, and on Dimitri’s cloak. And their eyes! Both of them had blue eyes, the different shades startling him. But there was no time to wonder about it. The man’s eyes darkened, looking between them and his daughter, and for a terrifying moment he thought the man would deny them help.
But that didn’t happen. With their new allies fighting beside them, the bandits were easily dispatched. Standing side by side, he and Dimitri watched in terror as the bandit leader charged the woman. But she disarmed him and saved the princess, her skill a beauty to watch.
And then Alois was there, laughing and greeting the mercenary leader like an old friend...which apparently they were.
He ignored it. He managed to tear his eyes away from the woman, tilting his head back to look at the night sky. He had done so hundreds of times before, but only now realized there were shades of blue cutting through that darkness. It was...it was so beautiful he found himself blinking back tears.
“I think we need to talk,” a soft voice said, breaking through his reverie.
He tilted his head back down, meeting eyes he had looked into a hundred times before now. But the brilliant blue there took his breath away, leaving him once more breathless.
Across the way, the two of them looked to the woman who had brought all those remaining colors into their lives. She stared back, but did not leave her father’s side. It seemed it took a repeat performance for he and Dimitri to discuss what had happened to them a year ago.
“Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “I think you’re right.”